Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Quick Amazon lesson on GH III supply and customer service

This isn't a story we get to tell very often, but it's certainly an interesting one for gamers to keep in mind when shopping at online retailer Amazon.com. Last night we were tipped that Amazon.com's prices on Guitar Hero III inflated significantly from the $99 we had adjusted to over the last couple months. We checked with GH IIIpublisher Red Octane, who told us that the prices hadn't changed. In truth, Amazon was no longer offering GH III directly from "Amazon actual" and their system defaulted to a third-party retailer who had included shipping into their price -- that explained the new, higher price. So, why did Amazon decide to stop offering GH III directly? They weren't sure anymore that they could guarantee supply on future pre-orders (because that's technically all you can do at this point), so rather than disappoint customers with possible delays they pulled the pre-order offer.

A representative for Amazon tells Joystiq, "Our third party vendors control their own list prices, which can factor in shipping and sales tax costs. Ultimately, the choice lies with the customer to decide who they want to purchase from so that they get the best shopping experience on Amazon.com." For the best example of how things can go when Amazon isn't the direct seller, a "new" Wii is currently on Amazon for $370. That is currently the cheapest you can get it from an authorized third-party retailer. When it becomes "in stock" again for "Amazon actual" it'll be the normal $250. Just a little something to be aware of when shopping from one of the top retailers on these intertubes.